Monday, June 11, 2007

Raceline (TV Show)

Raceline ... Continue reading

CVPS "plug & go" Supercharges Hybrid Vehicles

RUTLAND, Vt.--Central Vermont Public Service rolled out the latest in energy efficient vehicles today, CVPS plug ‘n go™, a program intended to supercharge hybrid electric vehicles. “CVPS plug ‘n go™ gives our customers the opportunity to be on the cutting edge of reducing automobile emissions a ... Continue reading

Ford Escape Hybrid Powered by Ethanol 85 to Climb Capitol Hill - But Where to Refuel?

Legislators, Others to Participate in Hand-off of Demonstration Vehicles WASHINGTON, June 11 -- On June 13, Ford Motor Company will hand over several Ford Escape Hybrid E85s -- the world's first full-electric hybrid vehicles capable of operating on an 85 percent ethanol blend -- to several D.C.-area organizations for r ... Continue reading

One on One with Doug Betts, Senior VP of Nissan

By Marty Bernstein AIADA Contributing Editor One of the most important acronyms in the retail automobile business – an industry so laden with acronyms it’s hard to understand some conversations – is CSI: the omnipotent, sometimes controversial Customer Satisfaction Index. It’s the number most dealer ... Continue reading

NASCAR (DAYTONA) - NASCAR Diversity Internship Program Enters Eighth Year

Seventeen students from across the country were selected to participate in the 2007 NASCAR Diversity Internship Program. The program, which began last Monday, gives minority college students the opportunity to complete a 10-week, paid summer internship within the NASCAR industry. “The NASCAR Diversity Internship P ... Continue reading

Porsche Pulls Out of Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS)

Porsche will not make its way to the North American International Auto Show, in order to focus on shows in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Miami, Toronto, Dallas, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Washington – regions where it has more customers, reports Crain's Detroit Business. "It was purely a business decision," ... Continue reading

NHRA (JOLIET ) - DIXON ENDS LONG DROUGHT

Larry Dixon tied legend Kenny Bernstein with his 39th career Top Fuel win Sunday, beating points leader Rod Fuller with a 4.579 at 322.11 mph to capture the title at the 10th annual Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals. Dixon and family shared a raucous winner's circle with Funny Car winner Gary Scelzi, Pro Stock ... Continue reading

NHRA (ATCO, NJ) - HUNT WINS DOOR TO DOOR FINAL AT NORTHEAST NHRA SPORT COMPACT NATIONALS

The drivers of the NHRA Xplod Sport Compact Racing Series gave the fans at Atco Raceway an exciting day of eliminations for the Northeast NHRA Sport Compact Nationals presented by JEGS. Winners of the race were Jason Hunt (Pro FWD), Ken Scheepers (Modified), Stephanie Eggum (Hot Rod), Jeremy Lookofsky (Honda Tuning Mag ... Continue reading

CORR (CHULA VISTA) - Renezeder Celebrates his 52nd win in Chula Vista

For the second time in 2007, Championship Off Road Racing had a sold out crowd today. With over 13,000 fans in attendance at the Chula Vista International Off Road Raceway, defending Pro 2 Champ Carl Renezeder celebrated his 52nd CORR win. Renezeder added five wins this weekend to his racing resume, three of them came ... Continue reading

TEAM REPORTS (FORT WORTH) - PENSKE RACE REPORT

Penske Racing Race Report IRL IndyCar Series FORT WORTH, Texas (June 9, 2007) -- Team Penske's Sam Hornish Jr. fought off a stiff challenge from Tony Kanaan through the final 21 laps of Saturday night's Bombardier Learjet 550k to become the first driver to claim three victories at Texas Motor Speedway. The No. 6 Team P ... Continue reading

USAC (KNIGHTSTOWN, IND) - DICK JORDAN PARISH EARLY LEADER FOR "ADAM PETTY TROPHY"

Robby Parish of Knightstown, Ind. is the early leader in the chase for the 2007 "Adam Petty Trophy" awarded to the top driver in USAC's "Wednesday Night Thunder" racing programs. Parish leads the standings determined by a special international point system awarding the top six finishers in each feature event from the R ... Continue reading

Porsche Engineers Customized Marketing Strategy

Automotive to Have Strong Presence in Plum's Destination Markets through Unique Multiplatform Program Titled 'The Porsche Performance Series' NEW YORK, June 11 -- Porsche Cars of North America Inc. will launch a multi-platform, integrated marketing program on Plum to support the launch of the 2008 Porsche Cayenne and t ... Continue reading

NHRA (JOLIET) - RICHIE STEVENS JR., DON SCHUMACHER RACING'S TEAM MOPAR/VALSPAR DODGE STRATUS

Richie Stevens Jr. drove past Greg Stanfield to win the first round of Pro Stock eliminations at the Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals, but a starting-line hiccup against V. Gaines in the quarterfinal eliminated the driver of Don Schumacher Racing's Team Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T. Stevens aced Stanfield ... Continue reading

ALMS (LE MANS) - McNISH, CAPELLO HOPE TO TURN LE MANS FORTUNES

Since returning to the American Le Mans Series on a full-time basis at the start of 2006, Dindo Capello and Allan McNish have been as successful as a pairing can be. They won at Sebring and Petit Le Mans last year for Audi, just two of their eight victories on the way to the second class championship for each. But as g ... Continue reading

Bentley Says Brooklands Model Destined to Become Collectors' Classic

Since its launch at the Geneva Salon in March, the new Bentley Brooklands has captured the hearts of customers across the globe, with the first year’s production of this hand-assembled, luxury coupe already sold out. Speaking at the recent opening of a new dealership in Istanbul, Turkey, Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen, Be ... Continue reading

NMRA (LIVONIA, MI) - ROUSH DRAG TEAM LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING A "HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE"

If there is one race on the NMRA schedule that the ROUSH Performance drag team is especially looking forward to, it would be the June 15-17 running of the Toyo Tires NMRA Ford Motorsports Nationals at Milan (Mich.) Dragway. The team is based out of Livonia, a little less than an hour away from the Milan drag strip, and ... Continue reading

NASCAR BCS (NASHVILLE) - CJM Racing Post Their First Top-10 Finish of the Season

In just their third attempt at a race in the NASCAR Busch Series, CJM Racing made a lot of people believers when Jason Keller drove the No. 11 Dutch Quality Stone Chevy to a sixth place finish at Nashville Superspeedway. When the team unloaded chassis #02 Friday morning they weren't quiet sure what to expect when they ... Continue reading

MVC Capital Announces Sale of Baltic Motors and BM Auto for $120 Million

PURCHASE, N.Y.--MVC Capital, Inc. , a publicly traded business development company that makes private debt and equity investments, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell Baltic Motors Corporation (“Baltic”) and SIA BM Auto (“BM Auto”), two of the Fund's portfolio companies ... Continue reading

Asbury Automotive Group Acquires Nissan & Infiniti Dealerships in Atlanta

NEW YORK, June 11 -- Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. , one of the largest automotive retail and service companies in the U.S., today announced that it has acquired Troncalli Nissan and Troncalli Infiniti in Decatur, Georgia. The dealerships currently generate revenues of approximately $100 million annually. These stores ... Continue reading

Chrysler Group Establishes Sales Records with May 2007 Certified Pre-owned Vehicle (CPOV) Sales

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., June 11 -- Chrysler Group reported that its Five Star(R) dealers sold a new May record of 11,243 Certified Pre-owned Vehicles (CPOV), an increase of 10.6 percent over May 2006 sales of 10,164 units and a 8.4 percent increase over April 2007 sales. Record year-to-date sales amounted to 53,829 units ... Continue reading

Chrysler Group to Announce Kenosha Investment Plans

- New "Phoenix" V-6 engine is key part of company's $3 billion powertrain offensive - Kenosha investment part of Chrysler Group Recovery and Transformation Plan What: Chrysler Group will announce plans to re-tool its 1.9 million square foot Kenosha Engine Plant for the new "Phoenix" V-6 engine. Who: Jim Doyle, Governor ... Continue reading

Volvo Bus Contract in Chile Cancelled

STOCKHOLM, Sweden--A Volvo (STO:VOLVA) (STO:VOLVB) bus contract in Santiago, Chile, with a new bus operator, has been cancelled. Volvo Buses, though, continues to deliver new buses to the three other operators in Santiago. The transport system Transantiago in Santiago, Chile, is one of the world’s largest bus-base ... Continue reading

Amerigon BSST Subsidiary Partners With Herman Miller to Develop C2(TM) Personal Climate Control Device

Personal Heating and Cooling Unit is First Commercially Available, Non-Automotive Product to Use Amerigon's Advanced Thermoelectric Technology NORTHVILLE, Mich., June 11 -- Amerigon Incorporated , a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global ... Continue reading

Ford & ACH Emphasize Employee Safety Through Partnership With the UAW and OSHA

DEARBORN, Mich., June 11 -- In an effort to further emphasize the importance health and safety conditions in its manufacturing facilities throughout the country of employee, Ford Motor Company and Automotive Components Holdings, LLC (ACH), have renewed a partnership with the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the U.S. Depar ... Continue reading

FORD & ACH Emphasize Employee Safety in Michigan Through Partnership With the UAW and MIOSHA

DEARBORN, Mich., June 11 -- In an effort to further emphasize the importance of employee health and safety conditions in its Michigan manufacturing facilities, Ford Motor Company and Automotive Components Holdings, LCC (ACH) have renewed a partnership with the United Auto Workers (UAW), the Michigan Department of Labor ... Continue reading

United Components Appoints Daniel J. Johnston as CFO

EVANSVILLE, Ind.--United Components, Inc. (UCI) announced today that its board of directors has appointed Daniel J. Johnston as UCI’s new Chief Financial Officer. Johnston will also serve as a member of the board of directors. Johnston, 49, comes to UCI from Solae, LLC, a $1 billion dollar producer of soy-based fo ... Continue reading

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. to Participate in Merrill Lynch Global Transportation Conference on Thursday, June 14, 2007

LOWELL, Ark.--J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. announced that on Thursday, June 14 at 8:00 a.m. (EDT) President and CEO Kirk Thompson will present at the Merrill Lynch Global Transportation Conference. The conference will be presented to the investment community at the Merrill Lynch Headquarters in New York City. Imm ... Continue reading

GRAND AM (WATKINS GLEN) - BACK-TO-BACK SECOND PLACE FINISHES EXTENDS TEAM TELMEX POINTS LEAD

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates celebrated a second consecutive podium finish for the TELMEX team in the six hour endurance race at Watkins Glen, bumping the No. 01 Daytona Prototype point lead to seven over the SunTrust team, 180-173. CGRFS drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas got off to a rocky start when Pruet ... Continue reading

Renault Denies Interest in Jaguar, Land Rover

PARIS, June 11, 2007; Reuters reported that French carmaker Renault on Monday denied a British media report saying it was interested in acquiring Ford's luxury UK car brands Jaguar and Land Rover. "Of course we absolutely do not confirm this information," a Renault spokesman said. "(Chief Executive) Carlos Ghosn said l ... Continue reading

Study Questions If Transportation Biofuels Economically Sustainable?

LONDON--Many see transportation biofuels as a way of reducing carbon emissions in the face of climate change and of mitigating the volatility of the world energy markets. But the question arises “given dependency on high oil prices and political support, are transportation biofuels economically sustainable?” ... Continue reading

Volvo Cars cuts S80 prices in China

SHANGHAI, June 11, 2007; Reuters reported that Volvo Cars, said on Monday it has cut the prices on some imported premier Volvo S80 sedans by as much as 11 percent to help push sales. The S80 2.5T model now sells for 558,000 yuan ($72,690), down from 628,000 yuan, while the S80 3.2L was cut to 668,000 yuan from 698,000 ... Continue reading

Ford China Recalls Mondeo Sedans

SHANGHAI, June 11, 2007; Reuters reported that Ford Motor Co.'s China venture is recalling 7,924 locally made cars because of potential problems with dynamos that might cause engines to stall, China's quality watchdog said on Monday. The Mondeo sedans were produced by Changan Ford Mazda, a three-way tie-up between Ford ... Continue reading

Mississippi State University Students Engineering Students Design "Green" Biofuel-powered Hybrid Vehicle - VIDEO ENHANCED

Detroit, Mich. - General Motors (GM) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), lead sponsors for the Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility engineering competition, congratulated students from Mississippi State University, who took top honors today at the third annual competition. The Mississippi State team was ... Continue reading

Ready for Take-off: Saab Launches 60th Anniversary Celebrations

Saab fans and enthusiastic owners from all over the world are gathering in the Swedish town of Trollhättan this weekend, to celebrate Saab’s 60th anniversary as a car manufacturer. Four days of events and festivities will culminate in a huge gathering of historic Saabs outside the Saab Car Museum on Sunday, Jun ... Continue reading

General Motors Allison Transmission Delivers Five Millionth Automatic Transmission

INDIANAPOLIS - General Motors Allison Transmission announced today the delivery of its five millionth automatic transmission. The transmission was produced at Allison Transmission's manufacturing facility in Szengotthard, Hungary. The 3000 series transmission was fitted to a Renault refrigerated truck and delivered to ... Continue reading

The new smart fortwo cdi - The world's most economical production car with the lowest CO2 emissions

with fuel consumption of just 3.3 litres per 100 kilometres (NEDC) and emissions of 88 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre the new smart fortwo cdi is the most economical production car worldwide. A full tank of fuel costs around €38.00* and 33 litres of fuel will take the 33 kW/45 bhp two-door car approximately ... Continue reading

Iran Ranked as the 16th Biggest Automaker of the World in the Year 2006

DUBLIN, Ireland--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c59259) has announced the addition of “Automotive Industry and Market of Iran 2007” to their offering. Iran ranked as the 16th biggest automaker of the world in the year 2006. It is the number one automaker of the Middle East and ... Continue reading

Mazda to Participate in ITS Trials on Public Roads in Hiroshima

Tokyo, Japan, June 8, 2007 - To promote improved road safety, Mazda Motor Corporation has announced its intention to take part in public road trials in the Hiroshima area to help validate a new Intelligent Transport System (ITS). The road trials are due to commence in fall 2007. Intelligent Transport Systems use the la ... Continue reading